Why You Should Follow: As far as controversial rappers go, Common is… well… not. The poet, actor, and Grammy-winning musician is a church-going former vegan who’s worked with the Jonas Brothers and appeared on Sesame Street. But when First Lady Michelle Obama invited him to perform at the “Evening of Poetry” event at the White House this past Wednesday, it stirred up controversy among Republicans, who blasted Common for certain anti-Bush and anti-cop lyrics, and called him a “misogynist” and a “thug.” He took the attacks with grace on Twitter, writing, “Politics is politics and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I respect that. The one thing that shouldn’t be questioned is my support for the police officers and troops that protect us every day. Peace yall!” He also joked around with his followers, retweeting their comments about the scandal as well as writing his own cracks, like, “Its not funny. I’m dangerous!” and “You aint scared of me?” At the end of the day, he was more nervous about his performance at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue than dealing with the haters (“I’m super geeked about performing at the white house tonight. I gotta bring it!”), but you gotta hand it to him for staying cool under fire.

Best Tweet of the Week: After he found out about the White House controversy (from one of his followers who tweeted at him about it!), he wrote, sarcastically, “G’mornin good people! How is YOURRRRRR day going?”

Why You Should Follow: The former frontman of Seattle indie band Pedro the Lion will release Strange Negotiations, his second album as a solo artist, on May 24 via Barsuk Records and will launch a supporting U.S. tour in June. If you can’t wait that long to get some David Bazan into your life, start following him on Twitter – he tweets photos from the bar and studio, engages in conversation with friends and fans, and writes about everything from crying during episodes of This American Life to switching from a Mac to a PC, to misplacing his equipment (“does anyone remember to whom I lent my white midi controller? I need it back to control some…uh…midi”). He describes being on Twitter as being “like drinking in a townie bar I’ve never been to before” (“Are these dudes gay or are they about to kick my ass?”). But he seems to enjoy it nonetheless, even when he ends up reading not-so-nice things about himself (“from twitter: ‘If u wanna see a stream of condescending pretentious pricks, just create a pandora station based on David Bazan'”).

Best Tweet of the Week: He posted a link to a free download of “Wolves at the Door,” the first single from his latest album.

Why You Should Follow: Her account isn’t verified yet, which, of course, immediately calls it into question, but based on the personal user photo and similarity in style to her MySpace blog, we’re going to venture to guess that it’s the real deal (just like we did with Amy Winehouse’s Twitter page, which later got the Twitter stamp of verification). Ms. Marshall joined the site just a few weeks ago, but she’s already gotten into the swing of things, retweeting messages from TV on the Radio and Kimya Dawson, and posting links to videos of Nina Simone performing at the 1969 Harlem Festival and John and Yoko interviewing Ralph Nader. She’s currently working on her first full-length album of new and original material since 2006’s The Greatest, so follow her for tweets from the studio and shout-outs to some of the musicians she’s been working with. And hey, if it turns out this isn’t the real Chan, at least you got a baby seal video out of the deal, right?

Best Tweet of the Week: “sleep happens to be now recording happens to be tomorrow”

Lots of musicians tweet, but all that Twitters is not gold. That’s why you’ll want to check out SPIN.com every Friday to see whose tweets we’re reading this week — then update your TweetDeck! (Obligatory Self-Promotion: …while you’re at it, be sure to follow @SPINmagazine!)

Why You Should Follow: This rock’n’roll legend and American Idol judge just came out with a new memoir, Does the Noise In My Head Bother You?, which is full of so many stories of sex, drugs, and mayhem, it makes Keith Richards’ Life look tame by comparison. His life these days isn’t quite as interesting, but you’ll still get plenty of retweetable stories if you decide to follow him on Twitter.

In his signature all-caps (spell-check optional) style, he shares stories from the red carpet (“JONNY DEPP LOOKED ABFAB… WERE GONNA HOOK UP & WRITE A SONG OR TWO… & RUSSEL BRANT WELL WAS WITHOUT KATY SO I TOLD HIM TO F%#%CK OFF”), taunts AI host Ryan Seacrest (“@RyanSeacrest RY… DID U SAY U NEED 2 STRETCH TO DO THIS JOB OR HAVE SEX… YOUR STRETCHIN OUT & I LOVE IT BABY”), and explains why it’s good to be him (if he “pisses on his scarf,” it’s his assistant’s fault). Expect lots of crazy Twitpics of Tyler holding a giant pipe and cigar, showing off his art collection, wearing rainbow-striped socks to the airport, and driving snazzy sports cars around Los Angeles, as well as plenty of tweets about fancy meals out and celebrity-filled events.

Still, at the heart of everything, he’s a dad – and it’s nice to see that even rock stars sometimes have to resort to Twitter to harass their children (“@MiaTyler MIA… U CAN’T TRICK DADDY… WHEN U COMMIN OVER 4 DINNER & YES I DO READ YOUR TWEETS”).

Best Tweet of the Week:This photo of thealbum artwork for his next single, “(It) Feels Good.”

Why You Should Follow: The Black Keys have been on top of their game since the release of their chart-topping 2010 album Brothers (which earned them a couple of Grammy and Billboard Music Award nominations, and SPIN Artist of the Year honors), even making a short musical action film called “Howlin’ for You” with an oddball cast that included Playboy model Tricia Helfer and snowboarder Shaun White. But as a band, they still haven’t gotten the hang of the whole “social media” thing – search for “Black Keys Twitter” on Google and you’ll only come up with fan pages.

Luckily, drummer/producer Patrick Carney has his own personal Twitter page, where he tweets back and forth with friends, makes Charlie Sheen jokes (“I took too much Charlie sheen”), posts Twitpics of French rooftops and Mississippi floods, and shares his thoughts on poetry vs. music (“Songs are a lot like poems only difference is songs are good I guess”). Follow him for declarations (“Pretty sure Josh homme is the coolest man in music”), observations (“The woman next to me on this flight has a suitcase filled with popcorn”), and social commentary (“I want to design a real low cal hot dog speed eating fest for babes”), plus the occasional bizarre, one-word non sequitur (“Vagazzled”).

Best Tweet of the Week: “Where is the best place to buy a flea circus?”

Why You Should Follow: This charming indie folk duo (named for the state tree of their beloved Baltimore, MD) recently released a new album, Civilian, and launched a U.S. tour that’s taken them from B’more to SLC and back again. Things on the road aren’t always exciting (“nothing says monday night like looking at pictures of peter gabriel on the internet #hotelparty #notevenstoned”), but if you follow their adventures (and non-adventures) on Twitter, there might be something in it for you – they sometimes give away free concert tickets to fans who can answer trivia questions.

Look out for plenty of tongue-in-cheek observations about the people they encounter in suburban towns (“segway hairgel mirrored shades bluetooth…carryout from panera bread. oh my god it’s THAT FUCKING GUY!”) and at Guitar Center (“Teen girl plays muzak MGMT on yamaha electric grand whilst studded belters look on, must be #guitarcenter”), plus overheard conversations (“‘giant cups of coffee make mommy HAPPY'”) and tales of drinking scotch with interviewers and having big noodle dinners with old friends.

Best Tweet of the Week: “Rhetorical question: When did the arts become a service industry?”

Lots of musicians tweet, but all that Twitters is not gold. That’s why you’ll want to check out SPIN.com every Friday to see whose tweets we’re reading this week — then update your TweetDeck! (Obligatory Self-Promotion: …while you’re at it, be sure to follow @SPINmagazine!)

Why You Should Follow: This former Fall Out Boy recently released a six-song solo EP called Truant Wave, and his debut album, Soul Punk, is due out sometime this summer. Check out his Twitter page, where he tweets back and forth with fans (and haters), shares gems of wisdom (“Like Donne said: no man is an island. By extension, no culture is either. That in mind, pay attention what happens in your world”), and introduces his followers to new music he loves (“Good thing I gave up looping cause this guy is way better than me”). Expect shout-outs to the people who’ve chosen his concerts over Charlie Sheen’s “comedy” shows and the occasional rant about scalpers (“Seriously: Fuck scalpers. I honestly have zero respect for these guys/how do they sleep at night? Really crushed”). Just don’t expect him to say anything negative about his Fall Out Boy bandmates: “Wentz is a really loyal, if occasionally moody, dude driven by his art and his responsibilities as a father. Funny as hell too.”

Best Tweet of the Week: “Because I’ve gotten so many questions about it, the lyric is: ‘Everybody wants somebody who doesn’t want them who wants somebody else.'”

Why You Should Follow: This Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter is on the rise. Her last album, 2010’s Epic, was a critical success, and she’s currently hard at work on a third record that’s already getting quite a bit of buzz in the music community (the National’s Aaron Dessner is producing). She’s also touring the country right now, giving shout-outs to fans on Twitter as she travels from one city to the next. Follow her for Twitpics of broken disco balls and DQ blizzards, talk about Woody Allen and PJ Harvey (her hero), and lots of behind-the-scenes looks at the recording of the new album (like this shot of Dessner “making sweet feedback” in the studio). She doesn’t tweet too often, and she keeps it pretty impersonal (which you wouldn’t expect, given how overly personal her lyrics are), but she’s definitely worth adding to your TweetDeck – if only to keep track of her friendships with various prominent indie rockers.

Best Tweet of the Week: “Ok, so now armadillos cause leprosy?! That’s nutso!”

Why You Should Follow: This soulful retro-pop singer (think: Amy Winehouse, Duffy) is already a pretty big name in her native U.K., but here in the States? Not so much. That’s all about to change, though. Doolittle is making her U.S. debut next month with a re-release of her chart-topping self-titled album. She recently spent some time on this side of the pond, playing a couple of shows (including one at Coachella), promoting her album, hanging out at diners, and soaking up lots of sun and palm trees. As it turns out, she loved it so much, she didn’t want to leave, as she tweeted, “I don’t know what I’m gonna do when I leave America #nomorerootbeerorfrenchtoastwithwaytoomuchmaplesyruponit.” Follow her on her journey to American stardom (and all of the Swarovski-studded sneakers that come with it), and don’t be afraid to tweet at her. If she’s not too busy watching Kanye West perform or fighting ghosts in her London flat, she’ll tweet right back at ya. Bonus points: You can expect lots of cool, artsy Twitpics like this one.

Best Tweet of the Week: “But if I had one wish it would be to come back to life on the day the world ends and watch it from a distant planet.”

Lots of musicians tweet, but all that Twitters is not gold. That’s why you’ll want to check out SPIN.com every Friday to see whose tweets we’re reading this week — then update your TweetDeck! (Obligatory Self-Promotion: …while you’re at it, be sure to follow @SPINmagazine!)

This week’s winners:

Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon@ blobtowerWhy You Should Follow: Justin Vernon – the mastermind behind Bon Iver – just announced that the indie folk band will release their second album, Bon Iver, Bon Iver, this June. “so happy people are excited. thanks y’all,” he Tweeted. “makes me feel good and loved. it’s literally about that hey? also, about self-bettering. meow.” Vernon is all about the fans on Twitter; he responds to their messages and retweets the funny things they say to him. He also encourages debate by posting questions like this one: “does ‘famous’, not by webster’s defn, but by YOUR defn, define a person? a person’s status? what’s status? what’s defn?” When he’s not tweeting back and forth with fans, he’s sharing stories from the road (“ive flown out of terminal 3 in toronto so much, i really know some faces and voices. i love the jamaican lady that always is at B14. #sleepy”), discussing his favorite music (“jay-z somehow explains all of popular rap music and appropriately and accurately puts himself atop the game with one song: ‘A Star is Born'”), and talking politics, crazy night skies, French pronunciations, and taxidermied lions. If you want even more Justin, take a look at his blog – there, he expands on his tweets and posts awesome pictures like this one.

Girls’ Christopher Owens@ Chri55yBabyWhy You Should Follow: Owens’ Twitter is a goldmine. Whether he’s tweeting pleas to Justin Bieber (“@justinbieber This is an offer 4u to replace me as singer in our band GIRLS,Imagine how gr8 this wld b 4 every1,do this WITH me,make history”), posting bizarre Twitpics to “#MakeMileySmile,” or misusing the word “swag” (“Elder wand >> SWAG”), you’ll have a hard time keeping your cursor away from the “Retweet” button. Expect daily countdowns to the next Harry Potter flick, lots of tweets about (and to) his favorite tween stars, and some of the craziest stories you’ll find on Twitter (“I can’t get out of bed. Last night I got high and ended up stealing boxing gloves from a sex store. I hope this tweet doesn’t get me caught”). Follow him as he follows his hopes and dreams (“I just want MORE, not to possess more, to DO more, to give more of myself I want to feel challenged, I wanna dance in a Britney Spears video”) and tries to make sense of this world we live in (“Just can’t believe sometimes how drastically different people are living right now simultaneously in a world that seems so closely connected”). If that’s not enough for you, Girls also has a separate Twitter account, managed by Owens and his bandmate Chet “JR” White, and we’re big fans of those tweets as well.

Tweet of the Week: “I hope Obama gets high today and changes the national anthem to ‘What the world needs now is love sweet love’ #420″

Hunx and His Punx@ hunxandhispunxWhy You Should Follow: Want a glimpse into the life of Seth “Hunx” Bogart, the larger-than-life frontman of punk-y power-pop band Hunx and His Punx? Well, it looks something like this. The band’s Twitter page is as entertaining as their energetic live shows, featuring lots of great behind-the-scenes photos and stories (“Driving thru the desert listening to Hole, The Breeders, The Frumpies, etc, secretly making out in back seat behind Punkettes backs”), as well as confessions (“I just got an uncontrollable urge to steal a baby from a shopping cart”), diet advice (“Quitting smoking has done WONDERS for my AZZ. Seriously!!!”), and TMI tweets (“I have been touching my privates for like HOURS”). Follow the band as they tour the country with Shannon and the Clams, hang out with “celebs with small dicks,” cover up their hickeys with makeup (“Will I always be a teenage girl?”), and generally have an awesome, ridiculous time. If you’re a super-fan, keep your eyes peeled for tweets like this: “Things I need (bring me?): Hanes size small tighty whiteys, lube – thick not runny, condoms, XL joints, SOUR candy.”

Tweet of the Week: “I screamed my head off to a bunch of college students how stupid college is while the Punkettes peed on me last night. I’m a genius!!”

Lots of musicians tweet — but all that Twitters is not gold. That’s why you’ll want to check out SPIN.com every Friday to see whose tweets we’re reading this week — then update your TweetDeck! (Obligatory Self-Promotion: …while you’re at it, be sure to follow @SPINmagazine!)

Why You Should Follow: Goth-pop outfit Evanescence is going in a new direction with their next album, the first since 2006: “Fun.” Lead singer Amy Lee recently announced on Twitter that the band is back in the studio, then sat down to talk to SPIN about it. Between recording sessions, Lee has posted the occasional excited tweet and Twitpic from the studio. But you can expect more of her usual tweets: inspirational quotes (“Forget the place you’re trying to get to and see the beauty in right now”), fun facts (“Betcha didn’t know I was the poster girl for a water park in the second grade! HA”), and Twitpics of Halloween costumes and cats.

Why You Should Follow: The Seattle-based indie-folk band’s second album, Helplessness Blues, is already being declared one of the year’s best. They appear in SPIN’s May issue, discussing the making of the album, but on Twitter they’ve got other things on their minds besides music. Such as: “If you baked a cake made out of poison, and put it in a dumpster, and a bum ate it and died, is that grounds for a homicide conviction?” And: “I wonder what it feels like to be one of the 43 people that Buzz Aldrin is following on Twitter. Does his assistant mail you a solid gold badge that says ‘Followed by Buzz’?” Follow them for lots of personal musings, quirky Twitpics, behind-the-shows tweets (“Goddammit. I put electric guitar strings on my acoustic twelve string. That took like two hours and I lost some blood. I am crestfallen”), and the occasional bit of brutal honesty (“Instead of feeling accomplished at finishing Helplessness Blues, my main thought is ‘well, that buys us some time.’ #musiciswar). Bonus points: They often tweet back at fans – Pecknold even revealed how to play his song “Derwentwater Stones” (in case you’re wondering: “tuning is DGDGBE. First chord – 020230. Riff starts as a hammer on on the high G, 0>2, then 3 pm B string, then 0>2>3 on E”).

Best Tweet of the Week: Pecknold, on his SPIN cover: “Gunning for that Osh Kosh B’gosh modeling gig.”

Why You Should Follow: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist – who has collaborated with everyone from Bright Eyes to Scarlett Johansson – is new to Twitter, but he’s already posting some of the best Twitpics out there. Think: hail coming down on his skylight, creepy shots of abandoned bars, spotlights against stage curtains, and giant piles of trash sitting out on a New York City sidewalk. When he’s not playing around with his iPhone camera apps (or hiding behind Lil’ Wayne when people try to take his photo, or admonishing tourists to “walk faster”), he’s live-tweeting Duran Duran and Dum Dum Girls shows, admitting his insecurities (“I hate being the shortest person on a boy/girl bathroom line #theclub #issues”), and showing off the ad campaign he shot for Lee Jeans (he’s a Paris-trained photographer). He may have “only joined to follow Charlie Sheen and Kanye,” but we have a feeling he’s going to become a Twitter celebrity in his own right.

Best Tweet of the Week: “Who can teach me card tricks? I wanna learn. #magic”

Lots of musicians tweet — but all that Twitters is not gold. That’s why you’ll want to check out SPIN.com every Friday to see whose tweets we’re reading this week — then update your TweetDeck! (Obligatory Self-Promotion: …while you’re at it, be sure to follow @SPINmagazine!)

Why You Should Follow: The Beasties don’t do much actual tweeting. Instead, they use Twitter to link fans to their very entertaining Tumblr, where they post graffiti pictures, musings about Michael Jordan’s mustache, and odes to the New York Knicks and some of their favorite bands and musicians, like Brazilian group MPB4. Their next album, Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2, is due out in May, and they’ve posted sneak peeks of the cover art and an mp3 of the first track. They won’t retweet you, but you’ll often be tempted to retweet some of their Tumblr posts… so go ahead and put a little Beastie in your Twitter feed!

Best Tweet of the Week: After Hot Sauce‘s first single, “Make Some Noise,” leaked to the Internet, they posted the full mp3 with the disclaimer: “This wasn’t really part of the plan, but since this track is out there we wanted to let you hear it here first, or maybe second. Enjoy.”

Why You Should Follow: This British electro-funk band is all about their fans. They’re constantly tweeting back and forth with the people who love their music, exchanging witty banter, answering questions about tour stops, and (jokingly) angling for fifth anniversary presents like this nearly $50,000 guitar. They also post links to children’s music videos and Twitpics of Foals-brand beer in Japan, Justin Bieber fan mail, and the adoring crowds at their concerts. If you’ve got something to say to the band – or if you have a Foals tattoo (see: here and here) – go ahead and tweet at them, because there’s a good chance you’ll hear something back! Also, you might want to keep an eye on their Twitter as they head to Coachella next weekend and make appearances at England’s Wireless and Latitude festivals this summer.

Best Tweet of the Week: “can you imagine waking up as jared leto every morning? god DAMN that must suck.”

Why You Should Follow: The 15-year-old son of Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy is a Twitter celebrity in his own right: He runs a successful blog, plays the drums in a band called the Blisters (which debuted at Lollapalooza in 2007), and is an exceptionally entertaining tweeter. When he’s not sharing stories from the high school cafeteria (“My school’s battle of the bands is making the bands buy tickets to their own gig. Unrelated: it’s put on by the fencing club”), he’s embarrassing his dad (“So You Think You Can Be A Foot Model? … is the show my dad wants to try out for”), posting awesome Twitpics of snow mountains and oceanscapes, relaying his thoughts on pop culture (“Stephen Tyler on American Idol = best thing to happen to tv since Queen Latifah dissed Wilco”), and dispensing useful life advice (“Moral of afternoon: do not play Monopoly with eleven-year-olds”). He’s a lot more hip than your average teenager – with great taste in music, naturally – but he isn’t too pretentious for Justin Bieber (he went to see Never Say Never in the theater!).

Best Tweet of the Week: “My mother just told me I have a porno mustache.”

Why You Should Follow: We first started following this Pittsburgh-born rapper last year when he had around 100,000 followers. One chart-topping single (Super Bowl anthem “Black and Yellow”) and a major label album (the brand-new Rolling Papers) later, he has close to 1.4 million. Fame has been kind to him — he recently tweeted about smoking a Willie Nelson-rolled joint with Snoop Dogg — but he never forgets about his fans (“to the little girls who scream loud as fuck when they see their favorite artist…we may walk past you, but we hear you”). Expect lots of tweets about his favorite activity (hint: it involves baking), his favorite music (“the isley brothers really knew how to play some shit to get the bitches”), and the joys of being a celebrity (“this is tha life we chose….to sign a million autographs and roll a hundred joints”). Bonus points: if you tweet at him, there’s a good chance he’ll tweet back, even if he’s high as a kite.

Best Tweet of the Week: “real g’s leave they driver half tha doob before they dip”

>Why You Should Follow: This ’90s indie rock band — helmed by Dinosaur Jr bassist Lou Barlow — recently reissued two of their classic albums, Bakesale and Harmacy, and hit the road for a reunion tour. They’ve been documenting the experience on Twitter, posting pictures of gas station pit-stops and 4:20 celebrations and tweeting news updates as they sell their own T-shirts at merch booths. Follow them for an insider’s view on the endless rehearsal sessions, Starbucks breaks, and technical difficulties (“funny that the only sold-out show would be plagued with gear failure, my wife couldn’t take it and split half-way thru”) that make a tour. Barlow is the one who does most of the tweeting (and retweeting), but if you see a tweet from “Jake,” that’s drummer and bassist Jason Loewenstein!

Best Tweet of the Week: “sebadoh tallahassee house show shut down by cops!”

Why You Should Follow: Tyler the Creator is the 19-year-old rap prodigy behind the hip-hop collective Odd Future Wolf Gang Kills Them All, better known as “OFWGKTA” or, simply, “Odd Future.” In keeping with the group’s aggressive, politically incorrect lyrics, Tyler the Creator’s Twitter profile is an endless stream of all-caps profanities and gross-out Twitpics, not to mention completely random exclamations like “I AM A STEAK” and “I Am Will.I.Ams Fucked Up Haircut.” He isn’t afraid to offend (“To All My New Followers: Fuck You, Loser”), even when he’s talking about his own mother (“Damn, I Wish My Mom Would Kinda….Like…You Know….Shut The Fuck Up”), and though he may live an extraordinary life, he’s just like most other 19-year-old guys on the planet — all he really cares about are video games, poop jokes, and girls. Expect lots of tweets about all three, and keep an eye on his Twitter as Odd Future gets ready to release their first album, Goblin, in May.

Best Tweet of the Week: “I Can Totally Be A Fucking World Star Failure Rapper After GOBLIN Drops. Fuck.”

Lots of musicians tweet, but all that Twitters is not gold. That’s why you’ll want to check out SPIN.com every Friday to see whose tweets we’re reading this week — then update your TweetDeck! (Obligatory Self-Promotion: …while you’re at it, be sure to follow @SPINmagazine!)

Why You Should Follow: Ghostface took to Twitter on Tuesday to announce that he’s looking for a little unpaid college student help. “I need INTERNS…. Interested email ae.theodoreunit@gmail.com! Writers, Marketing, Photographers, Social Networking, Designers!” he wrote, promising that someone from his team would get in touch with each and every person interested. The post got a huge flood of re-tweets and responses, because, really, who wouldn’t want to intern for a Wu-Tang legend? And since there are “social networking” positions available, you just might get the opportunity to be Ghostface’s ghost-tweeter.

The best reasons to follow him have always been his trademarked #GFKWordsofWisdom talks, where he gives unfiltered (and very often NSFW) advice on how to “make your girl happy,” how to catch her cheating, how to avoid the cops (“Run!”), and how to be a good friend (“If thats your boy man Holla at him. Tell son to get that booger out his nose”). Perhaps the social networking intern will get the chance to hang out with Ghostface, listen to his rants in person, and transcribe them into 140-character gems for his 100,000+ followers to salivate over. If that sounds like an ideal way to spend your summer vacation, go ahead and apply – the interview alone would be something to tweet home about!

Best Tweet of the Week: “Y’all some funny ass knuckleheads on here. I love y’all.”

Why You Should Follow: In case you were wondering, jetlag-induced sleep deprivation progresses as follows: first, you “feel like [your] head is a huge balloon filled with fog, with a body dangling underneath,” then you start seeing “little creatures skittering across the room” from the corner of your eye, then your “cloudy headache” becomes more intense… and ultimately, you end up talking to the hotel dog (“His English isn’t half bad! Except he confused ‘syncretism’ with ‘cynosure'”).

This Austin-based indie rock band — whose Twitter is managed by frontman Will Sheff — is almost constantly on the road, so they’re very familiar with jetlag, and they’ll be experiencing a lot of it this spring, when they take off on a world tour in support of their highly anticipated sixth album, I Am Very Far, which drops May 10. Follow them for a glimpse at life on their “traveling forest treehouse” of a tour bus and all of the crazy things and people they encounter while driving around the country (“Just drove by a place called Mister Tramp’s, advertising a ‘Beer & Bible Brunch: you don’t have to choose between your faith & beer!'”).

Best Tweet of the Week: “My doctor just recommended I get stoned & watch ‘Space is the Place.’ She is instantly my favorite doctor I ever had.”

Why You Should Follow: “It’s Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday!” With those few Autotuned words (and an Ark Music Factory-produced video that went viral), 13-year-old Rebecca Black became an overnight sensation on YouTube and an instant Internet meme. But even though she’s the punchline to a thousand jokes (and some have declared her tune “Friday” the “worst song ever”), she seems to be having the last laugh. The wannabe pop star has more than 40,000 followers on Twitter, and she and her BFFs have been bouncing around from photo shoots to interviews to guest spots on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Nick Jonas sang a cover of “Friday,” and you know a duet with Justin Bieber is next (watch out, Selena Gomez!). In this digital day and age, YouTube is where stars like Biebs are born, so keep an eye on Miss Black – while her song may suck, we have a feeling she might be topping the iTunes Pop charts for awhile.

Best Tweet of the Week: “7 interviews and a photoshoot today. Then met some fans at Chick-Fil-A and took some pictures. #soglamorous right?(; I am SO exhausted. T_T”

Why You Should Follow: This ’90s grrl rock supergroup — featuring Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss, Helium’s Mary Timony, and the Minders’ Rebecca Cole — started writing songs together in September and played their first, slightly awkward show in Olympia, Washington, in November. Now, they’re headed to SXSW, and if the past few months have been any indication, you can expect lots of behind-the-scenes tweets and Twitpics. They’ve been documenting their journey as a band, from their first photo shoot on the banks of the Willamette River to the recording of their “7” — plus all of the birthday parties, “band dog walks,” soundchecks, and shows in between. Whether they’re writing about playing on a “stage the size of a postage stamp” or posting pictures of themselves loading up their tour van, their tweets show that forming a supergroup with a bunch of seasoned musicians is very much the same as forming a brand-new band with a bunch of nobodies: full of nervousness, excitement, and monumental “firsts.” These women aren’t the slightest bit jaded, and for that, we give them a big thumbs-up.

Best Tweet of the Week: “We’re here to heat up this cold New England city.”

Why You Should Follow: Dum Dum Girls bassist and indie rock pin-up girl Bambi Davies recently tweeted, “I get to do the coolest shit with the loveliest people,” which seems like a good way of summing it up, doesn’t it? Her band just released a new EP, He Gets Me High, and launched a U.S. tour, which will take them to Austin for a performance at SXSW. Every day is a party, full of “magical mushrooms,” Alaskan White Ale, “special brownies,” and matching tattoos. Look out for party tales (“Girl sitting in puke trying to pull on shorts slams door in my face and screams YES! when asked if she is okay. Uh. No you aren’t puke-butt”) and lots of awesome Twitpics and stories (“Ummm. At a bar with Beyonce and Jay Z. Can’t decide if I should compliment Big Pimpin or Why Don’t You Love Me”) that will make you wish you were a Dum Dum Girl. So will her tweets about accidentally quitting smoking and wanting to “chomp [her] teeth out” after taking a hit of cocaine and looking for a second gig: “I’m really funny. Give me a freelance writing job. I can write smut for your blog/magazine/coming out letter to your parents/etc.”

Best Tweet of the Week: This artsy Twitpic of Dum Dum Girls singer Dee Dee getting ready to receive her “tour tattoo.”

Why You Should Follow: “BRAIDS is a band that lost to a Red Hot Chili’s cover band in high school,” reads this Canadian quartet’s Twitter bio. They’re also an experimental dream-pop group that won critical praise when their debut album, Native Speaker, was released in January, and they’ll be playing nine — yup, nine — shows at SXSW. Other fun facts about Braids: while on tour, they sometimes hang out in pay-by-the-hour hot tubs, and they may or may not have killed someone (“This corpse is stinking up my room. #deadpeople”). They don’t tweet very often, but when they do, it’s worth it, if only for the valuable life advice (“when a car hits you, go to the hospital. even if you’re playing a show that day”) and occasional Twitpic.

Why You Should Follow: Gibbard’s wife – She & Him cutie-pie Zooey Deschanel – is a voracious tweeter, and it looks like she finally convinced him to join in on the fun. His first tweet: “Sorry I’m late, guys. I was mistakenly ‘tweeding’ over at some site called ‘twidder’ for the last 13 months.” Since then, he’s become a truly interesting follow, posting links to articles, sharing songs, tweet-flirting with Zooey, and discussing music (“scientifically speaking, ‘you can never hold back spring’ by tom waits is the most beautiful song every written. it’s SCIENCE, people…”) and sports (“i’m tired of baseball pundits talking about who needs to ‘step up’ in 2011 #playedoutsportscliches”). He writes about his love for opening old LPs (“it feels like opening a time capsule. it smells good, too”), his dream of someday mastering the knuckleball, and his complicated feelings about the Byrds and the Beatles (he isn’t sure which band is better), and occasionally answers questions from fans and gives little hints about Death Cab’s upcoming album, Codes and Keys, and the accompanying U.S. tour. Keep an eye out as May 31 approaches – that’s when the new album is scheduled to drop!

Best Tweet of the Week: “the shirt i just put on smells exactly like the gum that came in topps baseball cards when i was a kid. i feel both nostalgia and confusion.”

Why You Should Follow: This folk-rock singer-songwriter – and New Pornographers vocalist – is a must-follow for music nerds. She tweets about her beloved Dano bass, her pick for “foxiest drummer of all time” (Black Sabbath’s Bill Ward, thanks to his “Viking braids”), her dogs’ reactions to new songs she writes, and those times when she just needs to listen to some “crass, sexist guitar rock.” She posts every couple of minutes or hours, even though her friends make fun of her for it. In fact, Jon Wurster from the Mountain Goats and stand-up comedian Todd Barry (her “Twitter mentors”) recently took her out for a steak dinner and told her she tweeted too much! As she put it (on Twitter, of course), “They were kidding. But kind of not really. It’s twitter. Only the strong survive…” If that’s the case, she’s doing pretty well for herself – she may overwhelm your TweetDeck at times, but you’ll find yourself wanting to re-tweet nearly everything she says.

Best Tweet of the Week: “If you say you don’t like Jane’s Addiction you’re just kinda being a dick on purpose.”

Why You Should Follow: L.A./Montreal-based shoegaze duo No Joy just finished a set of U.S. tour dates opening for Best Coast and Wavves, and while they were sad to part ways, at least they have the memories. Guitarist Laura Lloyd documented every crazy, booze-and-weed-fueled moment of the tour on Twitter, posting Twitpics of Bethany Cosentino getting “iced”, Ali Koehler downing beers at alcohol-free venues, and Wavves buying rounds of champagne at hotel bars, along with other instances of backstage and after-party mayhem. Now that she and bandmate Jasmine White-Gluz are headed off to Europe on their own, all sorts of new adventures await – and it seems like things are off to a good start. Just before a flight to London, she tweeted, “This flight is going to be our own white-girl version of Soul Plane, but with more valium and less weed. Heathrow bound.” Once there, she asked fans to come hang out with her and Jasmine at the Hoxton Bar and Kitchen and “tell [her] what day it is.” Look out for many more Twitpics, random thoughts (“What are the origins of bubble letters? Did they exist in ancient Rome?”), and funny stories from the road!